SF School District Gives Chromebooks An 'A'

The one-to-one student technology initiative started as a plan to enhance the educational experience for students. District officials say that's exactly what happened.

"I think the result of being able to accomplish the goals is because we started with the end in mind. We knew exactly what we wanted to do," Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development director Sharon Schueler said.

Schueler says there's been a major learning curve for both students and staff to make the program a success. Now that the first year of Chromebooks is in the books, Schueler says the challenges the District faced, including insurance and assigning the devices to students, were a positive.

"It's the detail behind all this that took the most time. But it's, as a result of the detail and the time involved, it was probably the most successful, too," Schueler said.

Altogether, 18,000 Chromebooks were given to students in grades 3 through 12. Based on the District's first year experience, Chromebooks are expected to play a bigger role in the classroom in the future.

"Overall, I would have to give it an 'A' as a result of the report because I believe everything was pretty positive. We will have changes in place next year as a result of this," Schueler said.

Students will likely be taking more of their semester tests online starting next year, as well as seeing fewer textbooks in the classroom.